Titus 1: 1-4
This short letter follows Paul's letters to Timothy, and it stands on its own in being rich in doctrinal and practical matters--worthy of our study.
Paul wrote this to his representative who was facing a difficult situation in the church on the island of Crete.
(1) Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ,
As the servant of God he is God's agent; and further, he is also Jesus Christ's apostle, one who has been called, equipped and sent forth, authorized in the office of laying the foundation of the church.
for the faith of those chosen of God
For the purpose of laying down the standard of the faith that God has given to His elect, those He has chosen.
The Biblical teaching on election is for believers, intended to be very practical, assuring faithful, struggling believers that their salvation is all of God from beginning to end. His grace gift.
and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness,
This knowledge of the truth is linked to faith, and is an intellectual and a heart response to divine reality as revealed in the Word of Truth, the Bible. This will result in a moral character.
There is an intimate connection between knowing God's Truth and living a life that is in accordance with God's high moral standards. This is a lesson that the believers on Crete needed to learn.
(2) in the hope of eternal life,
This Christian character of life is grounded in the expectation of living with God in His eternity. This is our future.
which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,
God has told us about this in His written Word, that He promised before He even began to create. His plan that He is now carrying out.
(3) but at the proper time manifested, even His word,
This pronouncement, conceived in the mind of God, was shown in history through the clear, public preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The appropriateness of the time is evident from the existence of the Roman peace that gave a favorable setting for the preaching of the Gospel, and the development of Greek (the most exact and precise language ever) as the linguistic medium of its world-wide proclamation.
in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior,
The message is what God entrusted to Paul to preach, and its purity must be maintained to retain its power and authority. This is what needed to be preserved on the island of Crete.
(4) To Titus, my true child in a common faith:
Titus is first introduced in Galatians 2: 1-3
as Paul brought him with him from Antioch to Jerusalem, an
uncircumcised young Greek believer, as a worthy example of his work
among the Gentiles, becoming a believer under Paul's preaching.
He had proved to be a valuable partner and fellow-worker to Paul in handling sensitive assignments in Corinth concerning a collection to be taken to benefit the believers in Judea, and also to help straighten out the tangled affairs there and counter the work of opponents of Paul (I Corinthians 16: 1-4; II Corinthians 9: 2, 12: 18; and II Corinthians 2: 12-13; 7: 5-7, 13-15; and II Corinthians 8: 6-7, 16-24; and II Corinthians 12: 17-18).
Paul had noticed the deplorable condition of the church on Crete when they apparently were ministering there together, and after a short time he left Titus there (1: 5), trusting him to also handle this situation.
Titus may have been working there for some time when Paul wrote this letter to him.
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
This is Paul's characteristic greeting. "Grace" is the unmerited favor of God at work in the life of the believer, and "peace" is the resultant experience of harmony and well-being in the life of the reconciled. This blessing is from both the Father and the Son as one Source.
We have one God. He makes Himself known to us as a Father who thinks, plans, decides; and a Son who does the work and makes actual the Father's ideas; and a Spirit who is the life and power to get it all done. All one God.
O my Father, You gave Titus to Paul to work with Paul in his work that You gave him to do to lay the foundation of belief for Your church. And Titus was resourceful, energetic, tactful, skillful in dealing with difficult situations, and effective in conciliating people. He was extremely helpful to Paul.
Father, teach me how to also be like Titus in my work in Christ to spread the seed of the Gospel, to work with people in resourceful and tactful ways. Teach me how to be skillful in dealing with all sorts of situations, and give me effectiveness in conciliating people who aren't getting along. Let me be a peacemaker and a friend to the friendless.
O Father, send out all of Your children, strengthen all of us to be faithful witnesses of our Lord Jesus Christ, to share with others how much You love us all and have already met all of our needs, especially the most important ones.
My Father, You have loved us more than we could ever deserve. In Your mercy You have placed on Your Son all the wrath we deserve, and in Your grace You have given us everything that You want to enrich us with, even though we don't deserve any of it. You have decided to create us to be Your family, and nothing and no one can ever override Your will.
O Father God, You have planned out everything, then You have made everything according to the way You wanted it to be, and You are guiding the moments of every day of every year to work out Your plans for each of us and for all of us.
You alone are God, You alone are sovereign, You alone have the power and authority to do everything You want to do. There is no one else, and there will never be anyone else, who would be able to question You to account, as You are our Standard.
Everything else will be measured by You, whether it is righteousness or beauty or intelligence or Truth. Anything that can be measured, is judged by You as our Source of everything, bar none.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
